"VANCOUVER – Senior BC Hydro executives have worried for years that earthquakes triggered by fracking operations in search of natural gas could damage its two big dams on the Peace River, putting thousands of people at risk if the dams fail.

Yet the Crown corporation, which generates and distributes most of the province’s electricity, has said nothing to the public about these concerns, choosing instead to negotiate behind the scenes with the provincial energy industry regulator, the BC Oil and Gas Commission.

BC Hydro’s concerns became public Tuesday after Ben Parfitt, a resource policy analyst with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, CCPA, issued a report based on information obtained through a Freedom of Information request filed with BC Hydro.

In response to the FOI request, the Crown corporation disclosed its fears that fracking could trigger earthquakes more powerful than its dams are designed to withstand."